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Brazilian nightshade

melon-leaf nightshade, watermelon nightshade

Habit Herbs, annual, spreading, sparsely to moderately armed, 0.3–0.8 m, prickles yellowish, straight, needlelike, 3–7 mm, sparsely to densely pubescent, hairs short, unbranched, glandular, occasionally with a few longer, unbranched, eglandular hairs, abaxial leaf surfaces usually also with sessile to short-stalked, few-rayed, stellate hairs, central ray equal to or longer than lateral rays.
Leaves

petiolate;

petioles twining around supports, 1–4 cm;

blade simple to compound, elliptic to broadly ovate, (2–)3.5–10(–13) × (1–)2–9(–11) cm, margins entire to divided with up to 4 pairs of leaflets, leaflet margins entire, base truncate or slightly cordate.

petiolate;

petiole 2–7 cm;

blade simple to compound, broadly ovate, 4–10(–15) × 3–8 cm, margins bipinnately lobed or divided with 3–4 main leaflets per side, these with obtuse or rounded lobes, base truncate.

Inflorescences

terminal, becoming lateral, extra-axillary, much-branched, to 100+-flowered, to 25+ cm.

extra-axillary, unbranched, 4–10-flowered, 3–11 cm.

Pedicels

inserted into small sleeve on inflorescence axis, 0.8–1.4 cm in flower and fruit.

1–2 cm in flower, 1–2 cm and erect in fruit.

Flowers

radially symmetric;

calyx not accrescent, unarmed, ca. 0.5 mm, nearly truncate, glabrous or sparsely pubescent on lobe tips;

corolla purple, stellate, 1–2.5 cm diam., with sparse interpetalar tissue;

stamens unequal due to unequal filaments;

anthers ellipsoidal, 2–3 mm, dehiscent by terminal pores;

ovary glabrous.

bilaterally symmetric;

calyx accrescent and tightly covering fruit, densely prickly, 2.5–3.8 mm, densely glandular-pubescent, lobes linear-lanceolate;

corolla violet or blue, pentagonal-stellate, 2.5–3.5 cm diam., with interpetalar tissue at margins and bases of lobes;

stamens unequal, lowermost much longer and curved;

anthers narrow and tapered, dehiscent by terminal pores, short anthers yellow, 6–10 mm, longer anther purplish, 11–16 mm;

ovary glabrous.

Berries

bright shiny red, globose, 0.8–1.5 cm diam., glabrous, without sclerotic granules.

brown, globose, 0.8–1.2 cm diam., glabrous, dry, without sclerotic granules.

Seeds

pale yellowish tan, flattened, 4–4.5 × 2.5-3 mm, minutely pitted.

dark brown, flattened, 2.3–3 × 2–2.5 mm, reticulately wrinkled, ridged, or undulate.

Climbing

or scrambling vines, woody, unarmed, to ca. 3 m, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, hairs white, unbranched, ca. 0.2 mm.

2n

= 24.

= 24.

Solanum seaforthianum

Solanum citrullifolium

Phenology Flowering year-round.
Habitat Disturbed sites.
Elevation 0–200 m. (0–700 ft.)
Distribution
from FNA
FL; Mexico; West Indies; Central America (Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama); South America (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela) [Introduced in North America; introduced also elsewhere in South America (Argentina, Paraguay, Peru), Asia, Africa, Pacific Islands, Australia]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
sc United States; se United States; Mexico
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Solanum seaforthianum is widely cultivated as an ornamental and sporadically escapes in Florida. A similar species with twining petioles, S. laxum Sprengel, is occasionally cultivated in California. It is distinguished from S. seaforthianum by having tufts of hairs in the vein axils of the abaxial leaf surfaces, white rather than violet corollas, and equal stamens.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

North American plants identified as Solanum heterodoxum Dunal are largely misidentifications of S. citrullifolium. Solanum heterodoxum in the current sense is now restricted to Mexico.

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Stems scattered-prickly with fewer than 20 prickles per cm of stem; prickles often to 1 mm diam. at base; stems densely glandular-pubescent.
var. citrullifolium
1. Stems densely bristly with 25+ bristles per cm of stem; bristles mostly less than 0.5 mm diam. at base; stems sparsely glandular-pubescent.
var. setigerum
Source FNA vol. 14. FNA vol. 14.
Parent taxa Solanaceae > Solanum Solanaceae > Solanum
Sibling taxa
S. americanum, S. aviculare, S. bahamense, S. campechiense, S. capsicoides, S. carolinense, S. chenopodioides, S. citrullifolium, S. cordicitum, S. davisense, S. deflexum, S. dimidiatum, S. diphyllum, S. donianum, S. douglasii, S. dulcamara, S. elaeagnifolium, S. emulans, S. erianthum, S. furcatum, S. hindsianum, S. interius, S. jamaicense, S. jamesii, S. laciniatum, S. lanceolatum, S. lumholtzianum, S. lycopersicum, S. marginatum, S. mauritianum, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, S. nitidibaccatum, S. novomexicanum, S. perplexum, S. pseudocapsicum, S. pseudogracile, S. pumilum, S. rostratum, S. sarrachoides, S. setigeroides, S. sisymbriifolium, S. stoloniferum, S. tampicense, S. tenuipes, S. torvum, S. triflorum, S. triquetrum, S. umbelliferum, S. viarum, S. wallacei
S. americanum, S. aviculare, S. bahamense, S. campechiense, S. capsicoides, S. carolinense, S. chenopodioides, S. cordicitum, S. davisense, S. deflexum, S. dimidiatum, S. diphyllum, S. donianum, S. douglasii, S. dulcamara, S. elaeagnifolium, S. emulans, S. erianthum, S. furcatum, S. hindsianum, S. interius, S. jamaicense, S. jamesii, S. laciniatum, S. lanceolatum, S. lumholtzianum, S. lycopersicum, S. marginatum, S. mauritianum, S. nigrescens, S. nigrum, S. nitidibaccatum, S. novomexicanum, S. perplexum, S. pseudocapsicum, S. pseudogracile, S. pumilum, S. rostratum, S. sarrachoides, S. seaforthianum, S. setigeroides, S. sisymbriifolium, S. stoloniferum, S. tampicense, S. tenuipes, S. torvum, S. triflorum, S. triquetrum, S. umbelliferum, S. viarum, S. wallacei
Subordinate taxa
S. citrullifolium var. citrullifolium, S. citrullifolium var. setigerum
Name authority Andrews: Bot. Repos. 8: plate 504. (1808) A. Braun: Index Seminum (Friburg) 1849: [3]. (1849)
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